Glass Houses
by PhantomSilverCrystal
Summary: [Dino Thunder] Ethan just wants to be the three musketeers, but he feels more like a third wheel. Kira can't be sure where she stands with Conner, who's trying hard not to notice that things are changing. Cassidy and Devin might be on to something, and what's the deal with Trent? Is he someone Kira can trust? (Slight AU Dino Thunder, Multiparing)
1. Sweet Nothing

**A.N.: Hi, there! This is my first Dino Thunder fic, so I hope you'll like it. Be prepared for A LOT of relationship stuff, but also a fair deal of fighting evil (as all Power Rangers should!) and such. This story begins after Tommy becomes the Black Ranger, but as if Trent has yet to be introduced and will continue until the series finally. Any kind of response is appreciated :) **

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"Hey, babe, could you pass me a napkin?" Conner asked, trying to cover the strawberry milkshake mustache collected above his upper lip. Hayley's Cyber-Space was teeming with people as usual. Maybe that's why Kira hadn't handed him a napkin from the stack in front of her: it was too noisy. That must have been it, he decided. She sat across from him, flipping through a notebook, trying to study something, apparently. He tried again, a little louder. "Babe? Babe! Kira!"

"That's more like it." She smiled, mischievously, sliding the stack of napkins in front of him. He sneered, wiping the milkshake away. He had given he what she wanted. She'd just played him, again. Kira was getting too good at getting what she wanted from Conner and he was secretly loving it.

"Thanks, _babe._" Kira rolled her eyes with a laugh, and held her hand out expectantly. He stared at her palm, wondering what she wanted now. "What?" He asked.

"You know what." She raised her eyebrows. When Conner shook his head in confusion, she reached across the table and grabbed his hand. The touch was electric, an almost tangible chemistry, that caused Conner to inhale sharply. She didn't touch him often, but when she did, his skin always flushed warmly to remind him where she had. Turning his hand palm up, she popped the cap off her pen and scribbled one word across it. He looked down and read her name. "There," She said, self-satisfied. "Now, if you forget, you can remind yourself."

"Hey, if you two are finished," Ethan interrupted, breaking their eye contact. "We actually have work to do." He attempted to hide his annoyance at their flirtation, but with great difficulty.

"Right." Conner smiled. "Work." With a wink at Ethan, he took another sip of his shake.

"Seriously, Conner. Dr. O made it sound like this quiz is going to be worth a lot of points and my grade's been dragging since the whole spandex thing cut into my study schedule." Ethan huffed, turning his attention back to the textbook.

"Dragging? Down to what? A 93 percent?" Kira asked. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm all for the extra study buddies, but I'm pretty sure my grade is lower than yours, and I can almost guarantee McKnight's is, but we're not freaking."

"Yeah," Conner agreed. Suddenly realizing what she had said, he stopped himself. "Hey… I'm actually not doing that bad in O's class. For your information, I actually studied for the last test." Kira snorted. "What? What's so funny, then?"

"Nothing," Covering her mouth, she tried to hide her laughter. "Nothing."

"Tell me!"

"No really," She insisted. "It's nothing!"

"Tell me, or I'll… I'll…" Looking around for a suitable threat, Conner's eyes landed on the tall glass, still more than half full of strawberry milkshake. He smirked, grasping it firmly, and positioning it to pour on Kira's lap. "I'll do it, I swear."

"You wouldn't." She challenged, looking for a hint of weakness in his eyes.

"Try me." His wrist twisted a centimeter, pushing the pink frothy liquid closer to the edge of the glass, and ultimately Kira's pants. She looked at it nervously. He lived for this. Driving Kira insane was the most fun he'd had in years.

"Okay, okay! Put it down!"

"You're just going to say it was nothing again. Tell me why you laughed, and then I'll put it down." Winning was one of his favorite past times.

"I laughed because I saw your last test score," She had to fight the giggle from returning. "And if I were you I wouldn't brag about studying for that one. What were you, three points above failing?"

"You're lucky I'm a man of my word, or I'd spill this on you anyway." He said, slamming the glass back on to their table. Milkshake flew across the table, headed straight for Ethan.

"Bro!" Ethan exclaimed, jumping back. The force of his jump caused him to tip over in his chair and hit the floor with an undignified groan. "That was _so_ unnecessary." He grumbled, picking himself up and trying to wipe the pink stain from his shirt. This only caused his hand to become cold and sticky. "Oh, and my textbook! Conner! Now the pages are going to get all stuck to each other." The book was now soaked in milkshake, and the ink in the corner of the open page was beginning to run.

"My bad," Conner blushed. He picked up a napkin from the stack and reached over to help clean, accidentally knocking the glass, and the rest of the milkshake, over on to Ethan's notebook.

"Stop! I don't need your help!" Ethan shouted. The entire café grew silent, and looked over to the trio. He slammed his books shut, collected them in his arms and marched to the door. Before he left, he turned around, brow furrowed in anger. "And the next time the two of you want to flirt, make sure it's nowhere near me!" With that, he stormed out and let the door swing behind him.

Hayley, seeing the incident, picked up the bus rag from behind the counter and headed over to the table where Conner and Kira wore matching expressions of mortification. "He's just a wound a little tight," Hayley said, trying to ease the tension. "No use crying over spilt milkshake, I always say."

"Sorry, Hayley." Said Kira, as the color returned to her face. "We were just messing around…"

"Don't sweat it." She smiled, dabbing at the last bit. "See, no harm done. Oh, by the way, Tommy wanted me to tell you kids to get your studying done, because the quiz tomorrow—"

"Is worth a lot of points, I know." Conner interrupted. "Look if it's all the same to you, I think I'm going to get going. Causing a scene generally makes staying a less than attractive option."

"Yeah, me, too." Kira sighed, looking around. She decided there were too many people looking back. "Mind if I catch a ride with you?" Conner shrugged.

"Okay, then." Hayley said. "Be safe, you two!"

The pair walked out, heads down, hoping the starring would stop, but it was only beginning.


	2. No Longer There

Describe the process of carbon dating. Ethan stared at the page for what felt like hours, but the only thing he could remember about carbon dating was half-lives. There was something about half-lives, he just couldn't remember what. Could he get some sort of partial credit if he just wrote "half-life" on the page? Why had he even bothered to study for this?

He looked around, checking in on the progress of his classmates. Cassidy Cornell had turned her quiz over and was scrutinizing her nail polish. If Cassidy was already finished, Ethan felt he should have been done ages ago. Devin Del Valle appeared to be having a migraine, but that was how Devin always looked during quizzes. At least he was doing better than Conner who seemed to be distracted by his pencil lead. Good. That served him right for taking another half hour out of Ethan's already scarce study time. He and Kira both deserved to be completely in over their heads on this one. Kira actually seemed to be making strides, though. That's what he hated about her: she never had to actually try to do decently. People like her, with so much natural ability and no work ethic, those people made him crazy.

Carbon dating.

Carbon dating is a process by which paleontologists determine the age of artifacts and fossils based on the carbon in those objects. Carbon half-lives.

Good enough. It sounded right to him, anyway. Dr. Oliver would have to be nice about this after all. If it weren't for all the after school training he was making Ethan go to, he would have been more prepared for this stupid quiz in the first place. Being a Ranger was a real burden sometimes. What would the team lose if he weren't a part of it? Dr. O was a Ranger now, anyway. The team would be fine if he gave it up.

It wasn't just the grades. Grades didn't matter as much to him as they did to his mother. With his current GPA, he was a shoo-in for acceptance to MIT if he could keep his grades where they were. No, the grades were only a small fraction of the reason that Ethan was considering leaving the team. The real problem was in the teammates.

At first, it was exciting, being friends with Conner McKnight and Kira Ford. Everyone in school loved Conner and he could see why. Conner was a genuinely nice person and Ethan admired that, even envied it, but it wasn't enough to make up for his cardinal sin. Then there was Kira. She was the poster girl for what artsy outsiders should be, but with actual talent. She embodied a free spirit and had so much raw ability. Anything Kira wanted to do, she could, but she too was marked by the Scarlet Letter Conner bore beneath that leather jacket: they simply liked each other too much.

Ethan suspected that they had fallen in love. He supposed any other person would be happy for his friends, but he couldn't bring himself to be. He wanted it to go back to the way it was at the beginning. They were supposed to be a Triassic Trio, not the Dino Duo and Ethan.

The bell rang, interrupting his thoughts. Looking down, he realized that there were still three questions unanswered. Wonderful.

"All right everyone, pencils down. Quizzes go on my desk on your way out. Don't forget that we start a unit on non-organic geology tomorrow so be ready to take notes." Tommy declared from his seat at the front of the class.

"Non-organic geology? As if." Cassidy scoffed, collecting her things. "We have, like, so many more important things to study."

"Totally." Devin agreed. Tommy raised an eyebrow at the pair. "I mean not that geology isn't awesome… In fact, I think it rocks! Rocks… Get it?"

"Oh hush it, Devin," Cassidy rolled her eyes. "I was talking about the Power Rangers, duh. Speaking of which, I think I have a lead." The two rushed out of the classroom in a hurry.

"How'd you think you did?" Ethan heard Kira ask Conner as they left. Did they even notice he wasn't with them? Did they even care? He was the only one left in the room besides Tommy. Dr. O wouldn't understand. Back in the day, they probably didn't have this kind of problem. Was it a problem? Maybe he should just get over it. Maybe he was just jealous that they had each other and he didn't have anyone like that. Or, perhaps he really just couldn't stand them anymore. It was possible to grow tired of people, he decided.

"Something troubling you, Ethe?" Tommy asked, pulling out the chair next to his. He picked up Ethan's quiz and flipped through it. "You didn't even finish it," he noted. Ethan shrugged as though it wasn't a big deal, but it obviously was. "What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Here's the thing, I know I'm new at the teaching thing, but we teachers _always_ know when a student is lying to us." Tommy said, with a smile. The next period bell rang. He waved it off. "I'll write you a pass. Tell me what's wrong."

With a heavy sigh, Ethan gave in. "You've been a Ranger before, right?"

"Once or twice," Tommy laughed. "I guess you could call me an expert of sorts."

"Did you…" He hesitated. Dr. O was a legend. He was just about as hardcore Ranger as a person could get. There was no was that he had ever had these kinds of feelings. Ethan was beginning to wonder if he deserved to be in the same rank as Dr. O at all. "Did you ever think about… Quitting?"

"Once or twice." He repeated, more solemnly. "When I was first starting out as a Ranger, I wasn't exactly a good guy. As a matter of fact, I was about as bad as they came. I had no hope. That is, until my friends showed me that I was more than the spell over me. If it weren't for them, I don't know where I'd be today, but at the time, I wasn't so grateful. Even after the spell was lifted, I still felt like I had something to prove. I had an entire terrible past to make up for and I was convinced I never could. There was a time that I thought about turning in my morpher every day."

"What changed your mind?" Ethan couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't. His situation seemed so much more dramatic than his own.

"A good friend. She told me that the past didn't matter, and neither did the future. The only thing that matters is the present, and that no matter what, she and the others would always be there for me." Tommy gave Ethan's shoulder an encouraging pat. "I don't know the specifics and I get the feeling you don't want to tell me. I may just be some old guy, but I do know this: if you give up this opportunity before you've done everything you can, you will definitely regret it."

"I guess you have a point." Ethan conceded, although he wasn't entirely sure that it applied to him. "You had really good friends when you were in high school, didn't you? I wish that I… could meet them." He had wanted to say that he wished he had good friends like that, but he did. Conner and Kira were good friends, separately. He had to remind himself why they had become friends in the first place. Being the third wheel was just something he'd have to learn to live with.

"Meet the gang? I haven't seen some of them in ages," Tommy mused. Snapping himself back into reality, he tried to put some of those memories behind him. "What am I saying? You have to get to class!" He walked over to his desk and scribbled out an apology to the next teacher to have Ethan and sent him on his way.

Ethan was a good kid. He was sure that he would make the right decision. It was an intense experience, being a Power Ranger. At some point, Tommy was sure every Ranger had thoughts about quitting. He'd known his fair share of ones who did. Pulling the top drawer of his desk open, Tommy found a source of strength: a picture of the whole gang outside the Angel Grove Juice Bar, plastered with smiles after sticking it to some Putties.

Sticking with it was worth it, even if it had broken his heart.


	3. Lovesick Melody

"Tell me one more time," Cassidy coaxed. Hayley's was buzzing with the last of the after school rush and the noise was only adding to her frustration with Devin. Talking to him could be like talking to a child sometimes. "Slowly, though."

"Okay," He took a deep breath. "So, Ethan James told me that Power Rangers use the light from the sun as energy, like Superman! I was thinking that if we really wanted to find out who they are, we just have to find a way to make it dark out and—"

"Devin, do you hear yourself? I mean, you say some really dumb things but that, that's got to be the dumbest thing I ever…" She fought the scream building in her throat. Dealing with Devin was more than she could handle. "Whatever. What does Ethan James know about Power Rangers anyway?"

Two tables over, a very anxious Kira was alternating between staring at the clock and the door. Conner should be here by now; she couldn't help but remind herself as often as possible. His soccer practice had been over for fifteen minutes. Why wasn't he here yet? What did he have to do after practice? He had to get changed, so that was probably five minutes, and another five for him to pack up and go. It was ten minutes between the soccer field and Hayley's, so if he wasn't there in five more minutes, she was calling it quits and going home. That's what she promised herself. No more waiting around for Conner McKnight. If he didn't show up, then she would take it as a sign from the universe that they weren't going to happen.

The minute hand shifted and Kira changed her mind. What if practice had run late? She couldn't pack up all her feelings and go home just because the universe made soccer practice run late. It's not like he had actually said he was coming in the first place really. "Okay, cool. Maybe I'll see you there." Those were his words. Kira had met him at his locker after school the way she always did and mentioned something about the Cyberspace, as nonchalantly as possible. She had hoped he would ask her to meet him there, or better yet, call it a date. No such luck. He probably wasn't coming.

She looked around. The Cyberspace had seen busier days, but it was by no means calm. Devin and Cassidy were arguing loudly about the line up for the announcements the next day. Hayley was blending smoothies. Kira cringed. There was something so mechanical and unforgiving about the sound of grinding blades on ice. She was hypnotized, however, by the colors swirling and changing with the pulse of the blending. Her trance was suddenly broken by accidental eye contact with a guy at the bar. Embarrassed, she checked the door again: still no Conner.

"Is this seat taken?" The unfamiliar voice startled her. Looking up, she found the guy from the bar flashing a dazzling white smile at her and gesturing to the chair across from her. Smiles like his belonged in toothpaste commercials. He looked about her age and it was possible she'd seen him before, but she was sure she would have remembered a smile like his.

"Actually, yes. I'm waiting for someone. Sorry."

That should have been the end off the conversation, but with out skipping a beat, he continued. "A boyfriend?" His smile didn't fade even a little. It must hurt to smile like that all the time, she thought. Was he flirting with her? Kira couldn't tell if he was or if he was just naturally friendly.

"Not really." She returned his smile, this time. "Well, sort of. Maybe?" She hadn't given much thought to what she would call Conner. He was her teammate, but also more than that, and calling him her friend didn't seem like enough, either. However, there was no way she would allow herself to be so delusional as to think of him as her boyfriend. Maybe she could call him her best friend. She hadn't had one of those in a while.

"This sounds interesting," He said pulling the chair out anyway and taking a seat. A million questions started flooding Kira's mind as he made himself comfortable. What was he doing? Why was he sitting? Was he trying to flirt with her? She'd never be hit on by a stranger before. Why did he care? "I do love a good story." He prompted.

"I'm sorry, do I even know you? I don't usually talk about my personal problems with perfect strangers." The door opened and Kira's eyes darted to see who it was. Still not Conner. She felt her face fall.

"I get the feeling that wasn't him." He teased. "I'm Trent, by the way. I go to Reefside and I've got," He paused to check his watch. "Twenty-eight minutes to kill before a job interview here. Now that we're not strangers feel free to spill your deepest darkest secrets."

"I'm Kira." She laughed. Trent. It was a nice name. He was charming and there was something about him that told her she could trust him. Besides, he was a nice distraction from watching the door. "I'm sorry to have to say it, but there's not much to tell."

"I've got twenty-eight minutes," Trent reminded her with a shrug. "I can sit here and stare at you uncomfortably if you prefer."

"No, really." Kira couldn't stop herself from smiling. "It's a short story. Ready? He's not my boyfriend and I'm a crazy person. The end."

"Oh, come on." His wide brown eyes begged her to continue. "There must be more to it than that."

"We just spend a lot of time together is all." She explained. "And I really like him. I think he might really like me, too, but we're not… Together. It feels like we are. You know? But we're not. We're just close. You're laughing. Okay, you're laughing. I shouldn't have said anything." There was something melodic in his laughter. She wished she could write a song that sounded as pretty as his laugh. She just wished that it wasn't directed at her pathetic love life.

"No, I'm not laughing at you, I swear. It's just I know exactly what you mean." He said, catching his breath. "I've been there and it totally sucks. Like relationship limbo!"

"Exactly!" She exclaimed. "But what do I do? It's not like I can talk to him about it. What if I made the whole thing up in my head? How embarrassing would that be?" Kira often worried that she was the only one in this relationship— if that was what she could call it— that actually cared. Back before they'd become friends, Conner had a different girlfriend every week. It was always the girls' bathroom buzz as to who was going with Conner McKnight that day. Maybe commitment wasn't his deal. He was probably completely comfortable calling her his teammate and leaving it at that. Casual. That was the kind of thing he was probably looking for, but Kira had always been an all or nothing type of girl. Or at least she'd always thought of herself that way. She didn't have much experience either way.

"How long have you two been 'close', exactly?"

"I don't know. Since school started, I guess? At first I really couldn't stand him, but then… God, why am I telling you all of this? You must think that I'm just some crazy, lovesick high school girl." She blushed. "This must be really boring for you. Why don't you tell me something about yourself instead?"

"Are you kidding me?" Trent said, solemnly. "I think you've made me realize something. You may have just changed my life."

"I did?" She asked confused.

"No, but it was a good way to kill the time." He chuckled, causing Kira to blush harder. "But if I may, a piece of advice: if you really like this guy, you can't keep it to yourself like that. Being close is comfortable but how happy can you be if you never really know where you stand? Besides, I know it's not what girls want to hear, but guys won't wait around forever. Eventually, he's going to get tired of hanging around for you."

"You don't even know him." She said, defensively.

"Kira!" The door flew open and Conner raced in, obviously excited over something. His face lit up when he spotted her and he rushed to her table. "You'll never guess what happened!" He was out of breath. Had he run all the way here? Trent gave a small cough and raised his eyebrow as if to confirm who Conner was. Kira gave a small, subtle nod, while Conner came to the realization that they weren't alone. "Oh, am I interrupting something? Who are you?" He was suddenly cold, as he turned to Trent.

"Oh, don't mind me. I was just going." He said, pushing back in the chair and standing up.

"Wait a sec," Kira stopped him. "Let me introduce you guys. This is Trent, he was just giving me some good advice. Trent, this is my… good friend, Conner."

"Look, it's almost time for my interview, I'm gonna head back. Nice meeting you, man. I'll see you around, Kira," Trent nodded and sauntered to the bar.

"That was Trent Fernandez." Conner said, puzzled. "What are you doing hanging out with Trent Fernandez? How long have you known him?"

"Less than twenty-eight minutes. Why?" Kira asked, looking over her shoulder at Trent, drumming his fingers and checking his watch. "Is there something wrong with him?"

"No," He answered quickly. "I mean, I don't know for sure, but… He just moved here and I heard that he has something of a reputation is all. Ricky from the team was telling me that at his old school he was like a major player."

"I don't know about that. He seemed alright to me." Kira shrugged.

"_I'm_ just looking out for _you_ is all." Conner placed a hand on her shoulder protectively before sliding into a seat. "Anyway, I've got huge news! The team from Westbridge dropped out of the district tournament and guess who got the spot?"

"You're playing in districts? Conner, that's awesome!" She threw her arms around his neck. Pulling back, she squealed with joy for him. "I'm totally going to be there. When is it?"

"Next week," He answered, beaming.

"Did I hear that right?" Cassidy cut in, wedging herself between the two. "The Reefside Barracudas are playing in the district championship? Devin get the camera, we're doing an interview!"

At that moment, faint beeping from their dino gems indicated a monster attack. Conner and Kira exchanged a look.

"Sorry, Cass," Conner said as he got up and hurried out. "I got a… thing."

"Me, too. Big thing. Gotta go." Kira followed.


	4. A Step Behind

**A.N.: I wasn't really sure where this story was going for a while, so I'm sorry for the lack of updates. Also, I know this chapter is a little short and may seem pointless, but I promise, it's not! Pointless, that is... it's definitely short.**

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"Let's go, Devin!" Cassidy barked as they raced against the crowds through the streets of Reefside. That was easy for her to say, of course, carrying nothing but her dinky little microphone. Devin, weighed down by his camera equipment, both of their backpacks, and Cassidy's surprisingly heavy makeup kit, struggled to keep up. He told himself that he should be used to it by now. Since the day he'd met Cassidy, Devin had been struggling to keep up, and why should that change now? "We don't have all day, you know."

"Remind me again why we're doing this?" Devin panted, before slowing to a stop. Cassidy only pressed on. Heaving a heavy sigh, he took off again. Sometimes, Devin had to wonder why it was that he did whatever she asked. Ever since grammar school, they'd always been together, and he'd never been able to say no. He knew that she was less of a friend than she should have been, but that was okay, because he was determined to make up for it on his own. Eventually, Cassidy would realize how important their friendship was and when that day came, he knew it would be worth it.

Besides, he already knew why they were racing through the busy Reefside streets: Power Rangers. Cassidy was desperate to get an interview with one of them, and after Conner McKnight had so rudely refused her one at Hayley's, she'd been in one of her moods. When Cass got like this, Devin knew better than to get in her way. She had the fire in her eyes and nothing was going to stop her short of a giant monster. Luckily for Devin's lungs, fate had one in store.

She hit her breaks suddenly, causing him to accidentally run into her, the momentum of their baggage forcing him too far forward. "Look!" She exclaimed, pointing ahead of them to the perfect view of the major mechanical battle that had escalading, in a matter of speaking, before their eyes. "Are you getting this? Devin!"

"Oh, right," He smiled, apologetically, pulling his camera from the bag and aiming it at the battle above. The Megazord dodged and weaved as the giant Dinosaur-thing sent punch after punch soaring through the air, before tripping and landing on its face. It got back to its feet, seemingly confused. It was clear that the Dino Rangers had this one under control.

"Devin!" Cassidy hissed, fixing her hair. "Close up!" He pointed the camera to her as she smiled sweetly. "This is Cassidy Cornell of the Reefside High News Station, reporting live from downtown Reefside where the Power Rangers are busy kicking evil dinosaur butt. However, the real question on everyone's minds is clear: who are these Velociraptor Vigilantes? These Paleozoic Protectors? These… These…" Cassidy struggled momentarily. Her eyebrows grew closer together in her frustration.

"Dino Defenders?" Devin tried.

"Right! These Dino Defenders? Well, Reefside High: I, Cassidy Cornell, am on a mission to discover the identities and purpose of the Power Rangers: Reefside's Prehistoric Heroes!" Her declaration was punctuated by the final explosion of the large scale fight, and the Ranger's Megazord was still standing. Devin followed the Rangers as they flipped out of the cockpit with his lens, before returning the camera to Cassidy for a final statement. "The Power Rangers have done it again!" She declared proudly, before giving him the _cut_ signal and he turned the camera off.

"Good work, Cass," He smiled, packing the camera away. "Best segment yet. We should definitely use it to round off the announcements tomorrow."

"Tell me you're kidding," She huffed, crossing her arms. "There wasn't anything good in that take at all."

"So, what? It was all for nothing?"

"Whatever. Let's just go. Maybe next time there will be _something _usable in the footage."

Devin shook his head. This was the problem he'd found most troubling in his friendship with Cassidy. They simply didn't see the world in the same way. He'd thought that shot was brilliant, but they were a team and if they couldn't agree on something, they wouldn't put it in the announcements. That was the rule, and unless Cassidy insisted against his judgment, it was the rule they lived by.


	5. No Comment

Conner slammed his locker shut and thought to himself that something was missing. He looked down the crowded hall, not quite sure what he was looking for. He had his gym bag, his cleats, and his backpack certainly felt heavy enough. What was missing?

Kira's laugh echoed from down the hall and hit him like a ton of bricks.

His head whipped around in the direction of her laughter and that's when he saw them: Kira and Trent sharing a joke. Her hand rested on his upper arm and his eyes were glued to her. Conner heard his heart break ever so slightly. That should have been him Kira was laughing with, not Trent.

He'd felt this way when he had found them in the Cybercafe, too. Conner knew that he and Kira weren't together—yet, anyway—but nevertheless, he decided that he'd just have to have a chat with this new guy, to set him straight on the way things were. He made up his mind to walk right over to them, ask them what was so funny, and casually put his arm around Kira. That would get his point across. He could hardly wait to see the look on that punk's face.

No sooner did he put one foot ahead of the other than he found his path blocked by Ethan.

"Where are you off to?" Ethan smiled enthusiastically, hooking his thumbs under his backpack straps. Conner sighed, as Trent and Kira turned the corner, no longer in sight.

"Well," Conner began, leaning back on the lockers, accepting temporary defeat. "I was going to go see what Kira was up to, but I think I missed her."

"Right," Ethan rolled his eyes, the smile fading from his face.

"Hey, wait…" A playful punch landed on Ethan's arm. "Does this mean you're not mad at me for the whole milkshake thing anymore?"

"Depends," He answered, mischievously. "Does this mean you're apologizing?"

"Ethan Robert James," Conner fluttered his eyelashes and clasped a hand over his heart, oozing with false sincerity. "Will you accept my deepest of apologies for my Neanderthalic ways? You know that if I could change for you, I would."

Ethan laughed, swatting Conner's hand from his chest. "Neanderthalic is not a word, but I appreciate the effort. And yes. I will accept."

"So, we're cool?"

"We're cool."

"Out of my way!" Cassidy's shrill cry from behind Conner caused him to turn and Ethan to mutter something profane under his breath. She strutted down the hall, people parting like the Red Sea, as Devin tagged along behind her, his camera attached to his face, evidently rolling. Cassidy pushed her way to Conner's locker where she was met with a groan from Ethan. She narrowed her eyes at him in a glare before turning to Conner with a sugary smile.

"Hello, Cassidy, Dev," He nodded to the camera. "Can I help you?"

"Like, actually, you can." Cassidy said with a flip of her hair. "How about that interview?"

Conner winced, having hoped she'd forgotten. "I'm sorry, Cass, maybe some other time?"

"What's wrong with right now?"

"I've got a thing…" She widened her eyes expectantly, waiting for him to elaborate. He should have known that excuse wouldn't work twice. There really was no nice way to refuse an interview with Cassidy Cornell, and there was no point in outright insulting her by saying that he'd rather be stranded on a desert island with no soccer for the rest of his life than to have a more than two minute conversation with her right now. Sighing, he realized that he'd have to do it sooner or later and might as well get it out of the way. "My thing can wait, though, I guess."

"Perfect!" She squealed, pushing Ethan out of the frame. Ethan brushed himself off, and rolled his eyes again before walking away in a huff. "Are you getting this, Devin?" He gave her a thumbs up from behind the camera. "Good. Okay." She cleared her throat and put on her best reporter face. "Hello, Reefside High, Cassidy Cornell here with Conner McKnight of the varsity soccer team. Conner," She said turning to him. He waved slightly to the camera.

"Hey."

"I understand that the boys' soccer team has been entered into the district tournament despite the pathetic loss at the qualifying game. Care to explain the change in roster?"

"Firstly, the last game we played was a difficult match up, and we tried our best." Pathetic loss. Right. Conner thought back to the last game of the official season. He had left at the half to deal with a twenty story monstrosity attacking the industrial district, only to find when he returned that the game had gone on without him. The other team's striker had managed to score six goals in the time it took him to get back, leading to the so-called pathetic loss originally keeping them from the tournament. "But that's beside the point. Westbridge was going to play, but for one reason or another, they're unable to, and that puts us next in the bracket to play, so… Yeah."

"Let's go back to the last game for a moment," She asked seriously, "Reefside's doing well, up by a goal, in fact, at the half. What do you think lead to the devastating upset in the second period?"

"Soccer doesn't have periods, Cass. It has quarters and halves…" Devin popped out from behind the camera.

"Whatever," She rolled her eyes before turning back to Conner. "Thoughts?" The microphone thrust from in front of her to his face.

"No comment." He said turning to go. He didn't have to put up with this, and besides, the big game was less than a week away. Time was more valuable than ever, and Conner knew that every spare minute not spent on fighting the forces of evil had to be soccer. There was no way he was going to let the team down twice.

"Wait!" Cassidy called after him. "My interview!"

He didn't look back.

"Well, that's just great! My career's going to suffer for this, McKnight!" Her shout didn't faze him, though and he headed out to the soccer field.

* * *

Devin sat behind the computer in the nearly empty Cyberspace, as his disk uploaded. As usual, he was one of the first one's there from the after school rush—he had to be if he wanted to use the one of the desktops. Cassidy had been too upset about her ruined interview to come along, but he thought maybe that was for the best. It gave him a chance to check over his tapes in peace. Maybe the soccer spot was useless, but he was sure that yesterday's coverage of the Zord fight had yielded _something_ good, and he was determined to pick it over until he found something Cassidy would approve of. He looked at the dialogue box, impatiently: ninety-seven percent uploaded.

He sighed. This was his least favorite part of the job—the waiting. Devin was usually exceptionally patient, but when it came to seeing the final product of his sometimes unfruitful labor, he became itchy with anticipation. With a short ding, the computer notified him that his video was fully uploaded and he eagerly opened the file.

The video played, and he was a little underwhelmed with the raw cut. Cassidy had been right. It wasn't very good. He had been a little jumpy and the camerawork showed that. Then there was the part where she had forgotten her line, which was only a little problem. He could cut around it. Maybe he could find a way to use the footage of the Rangers flipping out of their Zords at the end?

He moved the scrub bar to the end of the video when suddenly something caught his eye. The camera had moved back to Cassidy, but in the background, the Yellow Ranger was sprinting. Furrowing his brow, Devin zoomed in on the running ranger. She looked around, before a burst of yellow light shrouded her and suddenly she was human!

He let out an almost unhuman exclamation of shock and pushed back in his chair, forgetting it was on wheels as he fell flat on his back. Pulling himself back up to his feet, Devin shut his eyes. There was no way that he'd just seen what he thought he'd seen. There was absolutely no way. He'd gone crazy! That was it!

Sighing, Devin opened his eyes again and stared at the screen, but his eyes had not betrayed him.

The Yellow Ranger was definitely human, and definitely Kira Ford.


End file.
